Mean Gene Okerlund Shoot Interview

Well let me tell you something, Mean Gene! Brutha, RF VIDEO is excited to announce the latest edition of our industry leading shoot interview series. We sat down with one of the true icons of wrestling, 2006 WWE Hall of Famer Mean Gene Okerlund! Everybody knows Mean Gene and his distinctive voice as Okerlund has been a staple of pro wrestling for the last three decades. From the Minnesota based AWA, through WWF’s national expansion, onto WCW during the peak of thier history, and back to the WWE, Mean Gene has seen everything there is to see in this business and he sat down with us to talk about it all.

Okerlund talked about his experiences with all the big names, including Verne Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Harley Race, Ric Flair, Vince McMahon, Andre the Giant, Eric Bischoff, and scores more. There’s not a single personality in the industry Mean Gene hasn’t spent time with! Mean Gene went through his legendary career that went all over the wrestling landscape. This exclusive shoot interview will provide Gene’s uncensored thoughts on all the behind-the-scenes stories from the AWA, WWE, and WCW! Okerlund takes us through the ribs, the road stories, the best (and worst) at ring psychology and work rate, watching WWF explode, and working with Bobby Heenan among many other subjects. Gene is insiteful and a blast to listen to, making this shoot one DVD that all wrestling fans are going to want to add to their collection!

Were you a wrestling fan growing up

What is your broadcasting background pre-wrestling

How did you get into wrestling

Initial impressions of Verne

What kind of lengths did they go to in order to kayfabe you early on

How long was it before they smartened you up

Did anyone rib you

What was the hardest thing to grasp about announcing the shows

Did anyone give you bullet points and if so who

Who did you work the closest with early on

Initial memories of meeting Hulk Hogan

How did your friendship grow with him early on

Who were some of the guys you were closest too

Did anyone ever give you the feeling “oh your not one of the boys” since you are an announcer

How soon into it did you realize you wanted to do this full time

Who gave you the name Mean Gene

All AWA:

Early memories of Jesse

Memories of Crusher and Bruiser

Memories of Ken Patera

Do you think that Verne was too much a mark for himself

Do you remember a young Ric Flair

Memories of Nick Bockwinkel

What are some of your favorite matches you called that you even remember today

Was there one match in particular that you listened back to when you realized, “I am good at this.”

What was a typical day of TV like

Memories of Ray Stevens and Harley Race

Memories of Larry Hennig

You seemed to be more relaxed than most wrestling announcers, did veterans take that as a sign of disrespect or you weren’t taking it seriously

Did anyone ever approach you about something you may have said about them on commentary

Who was the best at psychology during that time period

Memories of Bruiser Brody

Memories of Bobby Heenan

Memories of Lord Al Hayes

Memories of Mr. Saito

How hard did Verne take it when Hogan left

When did it become apparent to you and the boys that Vince was expanding nationally